Thursday, June 24, 2010

I got back from Mobile a day early and surprised Josh. I was unsurprised that the dishes weren't done and the apartment wasn't cleaned...but I didn't get mad, technically he had one more day.

We spent that Friday (b/c I didn't have to go into work because I worked over the weekend before) cleaning out the pantry because we had a major ant problem. We threw out a lot of food we weren't going to eat, and ended up with one completely empty shelf!!! I was then able to move my cling wrap, ziploc bags, tin foil, etc. over into the pantry. Before it was in the top drawer of this beuro that was rickety. The beuro was kept in the far corner of the dinning room behind the kitchen table and chairs, our extra couch, and boxes of board games. I am ashamed to admit we still do not have a large enough apartment. If we would just get rid of the blue couch, things would be tons better. Soon I will be able to. I have gotten the couch pictures off my camera AND after this weekend I don't think I have many more plans to travel for the summer.

Anyways, we lost the war with the ants, they were back in a stronger force the next day b/c I left a bag of dried pineapple in the pantry. Yeah not to smart of me...that stuffs like crack for ants. We're trying ant traps now and it seems to be helping.

Friday night Dee Dee (a friend from high school) was in town for NAMM, National Association of Music Merchants or something like that, and we were planning on going out drinking. She guessed she might be done by 7, so Josh and I went to Hillsboro Village and ate at Jackson's b/c I wanted some good food. But then I realized that a buttery greasy sausagey pasta would not be best before a long night of drinking lots of beer, so I got a Croque Madame, which is just like a Croque Monsieur only with a fried egg on it. Except the waitress I think didn't know what a Croque Madame was and brought me a Croque Monsieur. I was kinda annoyed because basically it was a fancy grilled ham and cheese sandwiche..and I don't like ham. I really wanted that fried egg. It was brie cheese grilled, on ham, in between two pieces of french toast. I called it a Croque Mister and freedom toast to fit my more American beliefs and ideologies. Also to piss the hipster's off. Damn, there were Ssssssssssoooooooooooooooooo many hipsters. Dressed all "cool" and shiza. I was wearing a brown tank top and blue skirt and I felt like a giant skank bag compared to all of them with their designer tshirts and 80's dresses and 500$ shoes. Yeah, doesn't that sort of seem hypocritical of them? It's what happens when Hipster's parents are rich. Once we got downtown to all the tourists on the street with their cheap cowboy hats and expensive cowboy boots and tight shirts that are shiny but show every single pound they carry, I felt much better. No, downtown isn't that bad, there is just more of a range of people and styles. The Village is just hipsters and everyone looks the same.

After dinner we went to Pangea and I bought a wedding present for Mandy. She should be excited, it came from Pangea!! I also got my dad a Father's Day gift. We'll see how he feels about it. I bet he looks at it and goes "Gee a ------, That's neat. Thanks, Lindy." And then gives me a hug. That's what he says everytime I give him a gift. Not that I mind or anything. This time though I didn't ask my mom first. She has great practical gift ideas for people, but I'm sorta over the whole practical gift. Impractical things that I would never buy myself are what I like now. I'm also trying not to worry over whether a person likes my gifts or not...it doesn't really matter in the end. Either they will or they won't.

After Pangea Josh and I went to Fido's and had coffee, played trivia on his phone and ate Poletas (mexican popsicles). It was the perfect end to a perfect date!!! But wait...it wasn't the end!!!

NEXT CAME PARADISE PARK THE TRAILER PARK BAR!!! My shoes literally stuck to the floor and I had toilet paper stuck to them all night. Josh teased me for wanting to take home the Nascar guy cardboard cut out, and we drank $6 pitchers of Natty Light. Expensive for the rest of the world, cheap for Nashville. I almost got in a fight with a guy until I noticed he was wearing a Michigan shirt. I used that to diffuse the situation. Dee Dee met us there with a friend, Emma. It was great to see her again. She is looking all trendy and hipstery now-a-days, but not Nashville hipstery so she isn't pretentious or anything. She's probably more of a hipster than the Nashville ones really, and that's pretty cool. EXCEPT she prefers Miller or Bud light to PBR. Not very hipstery Dee Dee...not very hipstery at all.

The next day, Saturday, we waged war again on those ants and drew up even. We waited around for Dee Dee to call us (which happened at 10 pm) and had a very relaxing time doing nothing. Then, at 10, the time I normally want to head in for bed, we left for Karaoke at Lonnie's. Lonnie's is the best bar/place in Nashville and it's not on the main strip but nearby, so you have to know how to find it to get there. Just look for the sign that says Naked Karaoke...that's next door. At Lonnie's, we ordered PBR (per usual) and the waitress looks at me, and goes "PBR....? Is that a beer?" Really? REALLY? This is a bar that only serves beer AND all bartenders and waitresses that serve alcohol must be licensed and take classes to do so, so she should have learned that.

As we were drinking our PBR (in a bottle, b/c yes it does come that way sometimes), a n older guy sitting next to Josh was very intrigued by the PBR and kept on pointing at it and talking to his wife. His next beer was a PBR, and he told Josh that he used to drink that "back in the day" and then offered Josh some moonshine from his pocket. Josh said no.

Dee Dee and Emma sang tons of songs and were amazing! I sang just one, Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. It was one of my better times singing up there. Josh sang a sublime song and the audience really liked it.

We stayed out until 3am!! I honestly can't remember the last time I've done that. I spent the next day recuperating by the pool.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I've been in Mobile, AL for several days now...and I very much like it here. Everyone thinks it's too hot, but I like it. I live without fear of being cold.

My hotel is very fancy and very old. I got turn down service! It was just a torn piece of paper with historical facts on it and some chocolate, which I ate right away.

Today we went on a field trip (the Natural Resources Committee, made up of Tribal members in the Natural Resources departments of USET's 25 Tribes), to see the reservation and specifically, the wastewater treatment plant. It was awesome! I've always wanted to see the inner workings of one. There were two large tanks filled with poo water. One was settling and one was aerating (having bubbles blown through it). It didn't stink too much, but sometimes it stinks like fart...bad diarhirria fart. It did yesterday when we drove past on the way to the Pow Wow grounds. There are a few other tanks and I saw the filters. There was tons of food and tampon accessories on the filters. It was quite gross.

I always thought that the wastewater was turned into drinking water. This is not so. It gets properly set free into the world to be cleaned naturally. What the drinking water plant does is treat ground water. Which I didn't know they did. I asked about personal home wells, and was told that they get tested and a monitor comes out and checks it so often and that there are permits etc. I was like, Ummm...not at my parents house. But I could always be wrong...I guess.

Last night we went to the PowWow grounds and got to hear the Creek Indian's Princesses sing and ate southern foods...including Banana Pudding. Then the dancer's danced. They were all kids and their dance teachers were these 20-30 something men who played the drums and sang for them. You could tell they were all friends and treated eachother like a family. After the dancing they played Stick Ball which is a game that has been played in the Tribe for thousands of years. It was awesome to watch. It involved throwing a small ball at a thing at the top of a tall pole with two sticks similar to lacrosse sticks only shorter and smaller. People of all ages played from 5 yrs to adult. The girls don't get sticks but they get to attack and touch the guys. The guys can't touch the girls. The older girls are in charge of pulling the younger girls off the guys b/c they get vicious. It was so fun! It was like a fair or a small community. So it wasn't like that, it WAS that. :) The sad part though is knowing that I am just an observer and even if I lived there for 10 yrs I would never belong b/c I am not Tribal and I would never "get it".

Then we went to the casino and got 2 free drinks and I moon walked for the Indians. They liked it. Then I danced with an old skinny Indian guy. But not touching. Most old men find a way to touch when I dance with them...so that was nice. And yes, I usually do end up dancing with old old men at some point or another.

I spend all day in meetings learning how much the gov't continues to screw over the Indians despite whatever Obama says or wants. It's just the people who work for the gov't...the Non-Tribal people! They are IGNORANT. I seriously haven't seen such a degree of ignorance of another culture (specifically 568 federally recognized cultures) ever. All of the federal agencies are suppose to consult with the Tribes before they make any regulations that will affect the Tribes, and they are all working on those policies of consulting. Only....they didn't consult the Tribes on how they would like these consulting policies to be like. I could go on, but probably shouldn't.

Okay, it's time for dinner with my new friend! Her name is Christina and she works for the BIA in Nashville. Woot woot.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

1. I made a dentist appointment for my husband. It's on a different day than the one for myself.
2. I picked out this dentist.
3. I have insurance for the dentist and used their website to figure out which dentist I could pick.
(So if you can't tell, I'm incredibly proud of making these appointments...it's sorta been on my to-do list for 5 years now...)
4. I went shoe shopping and purchased 3 pairs!! And damn are they cute.
5. I clean my cat's litter.
6. I realize that if I want something done, the only person who is going to do it is myself.
7. I planned and went on my own vacation (with Josh of course!)
8. I have an 8 - 4:30 job
9. My job also comes with an office.
10. I am on my third vehicle, this one being one I picked out all by myself

If we sleep with the bedroom door open, Ackbar comes in at 3 in the morning or so and starts kneading me in the stomach, where he alternates pushing his feet in and out. It always wakes me up. This morning he insisted I pet him too and not with just one hand. Oh no.. I HAD to use both hands. He would rub his face up against the other hand until I used it too. And the whole time I'm trying to sleep. The second time he came in to do this, I made Josh switch spots on the bed, and as we were switching, Josh got up and threw out the cat, and I was all, "well if I knew you were going to do that, I wouldn't have switched spots." I can't throw him out or be mean b/c the internet says that when he is kneading me, he is showing how much he looooves me and that he thinks of me as his mother. Therefore, to him, we were having a special moment. To me, I was just trying to sleep. So if I am mean, I am ultimately insulting him and being cruel.

And then in the morning he thinks he has the right to leap out of NO WHERE and attack my ankles. I also thought Josh was really good at slowing me down, but Ackbar is far better...and when I try to hurry I end up kicking him in the face on accident or rolling on his tail.

Josh has started back at school. He is taking two classes for one month and then two classes the next month. They all meet 4 days a week for 2.3 hrs or so? He's not sure. This month it is literature and American History. The lit class requires him to read CONSTANTLY. I swear all he does is read now. But I'm not complaining, I'm glad he's trying his hardest to stay ahead of the game. He has to read the Great Gatsby this weekend and start on another book as well and get a good start on a 5 page paper. Luckily I'll be gone. The part that upsets me the most is that we now own a copy of the Great Gatsby. I had such a horrible time understanding that book in high school and getting an A in english b/c of that book and Mr. Zinnecker. I swore I would never let a copy of that book be in my house. The ending was so disappointing and frustrating.

To distract me, Josh had me read one of his stories he's going to read next week. It is sort of a detective, "it was a dark night and then She walked in" sort of story, and it has a couple of detectives that the author calls dicks. There is the fat dick and the short dick. I highlighted it for Josh every time the work "dick" is used. To help. Only I didn't tell him, and I can't wait for him to read it!

How I Know I'm Not Really An Adult:
1. It took me 5 yrs to make a dentist appointment
2. I can't kill my own spiders
3. I highlight the dirty words

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

You know what Following? I've been thinking about it, and I'm pretty awesome. It's true.

I realized the other day that songs have lost their personal meaning to me, and I asked Josh about it and he says the same thing happened to him too. Remember when you were a teenager, and you had a song that represented many different events in your life? Well, that has stopped happening... I wonder if it is because I grew up or if I just got to busy and stressed out? Either way, I'm looking for meaningful songs.

While on my vacation I heard a lot of songs, and it turns out most of them are from when I was in high school. The one that I felt had the most meaning for my life right now is: All Star by Smash Mouth, (Disclaimer: I've never seen the video) which kind of goes against the whole point of this search for new meaningful songs. This song has always been meaningful to me, but I just haven't heard it in forever and I've re-discovered it. There's a line in it that goes "She was looking kind of dumb, with her finger and her thumb, in the shape of an L on her forehead" which is the line I remember most. Mostly because my name is Lindy and Lindy starts with L. So do lions, which are the kings of the Jungle. I usually feel an affinity with words that start with L. Then this song was on the Shrek soundtrack, which was definitely one of the first cd's I searched out and HAD TO HAVE. I know every song on that soundtrack by heart and I almost know who all the artists are too.

But this time when I heard the song, I listened to the parts about living life and going on adventures. Which is something I want to bring more into my life - daydreams and dreams and goals of adventures. I've found myself purposely switching off tv shows about travel to exotic places, and not reading about other people's experiences because it hurts too much. I've dreamed of going to all those places myself growing up, and until recently I thought I could. I always thought, when you are grown up you can do these things, and I focused on school work and waited. Now I am grown up and it just seems impossible...

BUT I am learning that there is life after 25 (which I thought was impossible, until I turned 26), and I am putting different goals into different stages of my life. For instance, when I am old old old, I shall take a camel tour of the Pyramids, when I am in my 30's or 40's I will go on a safari through Africa, and right now I am going to focus on climbing volcanoes. Which, by the way, I failed at last week. :(